Effects of using E-cigarettes 'stronger in adolescents'

The effects of using of e-cigarettes is stronger in adolescents than adults, experts claim.

There have been calls for E-cigarettes to be banned inside and regulated. Credit: Tim Ireland/PA Wire

Professor Eric Kandel, whose research suggests E-cigarettes could lead to harder drug use, said: "The effects we saw in adult mice are probably even stronger in adolescent animals.

"One drug alters the brain's circuitry in a way that enhances the effects of a subsequent drug. Therefore, we should do all we can to protect young people from the harmful effects of nicotine and the risks of progressing to illicit drugs."

More than a million people in the UK are believed to get their nicotine fix from e-cigarettes but opinion is divided about the safety of them.

The first E-cigarette dates back to 1963 in Pennsylvania when a 40-a-day smoker filed for a patent "smokeless non-tobacco cigarette".